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Breath equals life. It’s the first thing we do when we’re born and the last thing we do before we die. Breathing is a fundamental component of Pilates and it is essential to learn to breathe correctly. Joseph Pilates’ great focus on the breath was to cleanse the bloodstream through oxygenation. Full breaths allow you to expel stale air and waste from the depths of your lungs and replenish your body with fresh air. Correct breathing is extremely revitalizing.

Shallow breathing into the upper region of the rib cage creates tension in the shoulders and neck. Breathing too low down into the abdominal cavity relaxes the abdominal muscles and leaves the back unprotected during the workout. It’s important to breathe into the back of the lower ribcage three dimensionally. This will allow you to breathe into the lower lobes of the lungs where the most efficient gas exchange takes place. Inhale fully through your nose and exhale fully through pursed lips.

Here’s a visualization for you. Imagine that your ribcage is an accordion. As you inhale your ribs open to the sides (laterally) and your ‘accordion’ expands outwards. As you exhale, squeeze your waist inwards from all sides like you are trying to squeeze yourself a tiny waist. Breathing correctly and coordinating breath with movement will take your Pilates practice to a whole new level!

I went on a family hike the other day and it was a blast. The boys left their complaints at home and they were set on being wild rugged adventurous explorers. Watching Brendan move really inspired me and made me giggle a little. He wasn’t just walking or trail running. Oh no, he was jumping off high boulders, swinging on branches and hanging upside down from them, doing random hand stands, and running REALLY fast. He must have used every muscle in his entire body! It made me stop and think, “When do we stop doing that? At what point do we decide that a hike is just a hike”? I jumped off an enormous boulder just for the heck of it in my moment of inspiration and just about gave my husband a heart attack. Ha. It was pretty funny.

I think when you stop working all of your muscles and exploring the range of motion in your joints, they start deteriorating. That’s why Pilates is so ingenious. You are trying to do just that. Move your body in every way – move every muscle, explore every joint, and experience movement in every plane of motion. Bodies love intelligent movement because it is so healing. Good movement brings health, vitality, youthfulness, and resilience.

I don’t know about you, but when I wake up early (and 5:30am comes painfully early) I’m on autopilot. It goes something like this…alarm goes off, jump out of bed, put on coffee maker, eat banana and walnuts, drink coffee, brush teeth, apply makeup, get dressed, etc, etc. I might as well be a robot! Do you ever feel like you’re rushing around on autopilot? You’re probably carrying out ​habits​ . Habits don’t require decision making skills because they are well developed neural pathways in the brain. We can do them on autopilot! The good news is, for those with ​ bad ​ habits, is that the neural pathways deteriorate when they are not used. According to a study done by Duke University, 45% of our behaviors are habitual. 45%!!!!! Habits shape our lives in a big way so we need to pay attention to them.

Did you know that there is actually an area of our brains that programs our repetitive behaviour so that we barely have to think about them at all? Imagine making new decisions about every item in the grocery store? That would be exhausting! The area of our brain that programs repetitive thoughts is called the basal ganglia. The more repetitive a habit, the stronger its presence in the basal ganglia.

The cool thing? You can create any habit you want. Get ready for the first few weeks to be super painful as your neural pathways get stronger. Before you know it, your habits will be doing the work for you!!!! But it’s going to take one very important ingredient. Willpower! When it comes to creating new and better habits, the more willpower you can muster up, the more successful at it you will be.

Willpower is like a muscle. If you haven’t used it in a while, it might be really weak. If you decide to do 90 minutes of Pilates at 5am everyday, your willpower is going to run for the hills. On the other hand if you decide to roll out of bed and do a set of hundreds before you start your day, that’s sustainable ­ you just might be doing it for years to come. Starting small is key. Creating small sustainable habits will not only be lasting, but you will get great pleasure from all of your ‘small’ successes. Small successes also add up to big success.

Reading, writing, and thinking about good habits will get you nowhere. It’s time for an action plan! Here are some simple ideas for your new health and wellness habits. ­

Drink 8 oz of water a day. ­

Do a set of hundreds upon waking ­

Eat a big salad every single day ­

Eat 2 servings of fresh fruit a day ­

Power walk for 20 minutes a day ­

Meditate for 10 minutes a day ­

Spend 20 minutes a day outside

Now ­ create your own! Think about what you really want to achieve. If it’s weight loss, really focus in on the water, fruit, veggies, and movement. If stress reduction is your goal, veer towards meditation, walks in nature, healthy eating, and soothing teas. If you’re into apps, there are some wonderful ‘habit apps’. Try HabitBull, Habit Streaks, or Productive ­ Habit Tracker. Remember we’re starting small here so go for 100% completion! Use that willpower muscle!

Want to learn more about the power of habits? Pick up Mini Habits: Smaller Habits Bigger Results by Stephen Guise.

Have you ever met anyone who doesn’t want a long, lean, strong core? I know I haven’t. People are drawn to Pilates to attain that elusive beautiful midsection. Usually esthetics is behind the desire. I used to focus a lot more on what I look like. Slowly over the years as I continue to teach Pilates (one of my greatest passions), study functional anatomy, and tackle various fitness endeavors, the desire to look perfect has slipped away. Having a beautiful midsection is nice, but it’s only the tip of the iceberg.

I think that when we have a strong core, we walk through life differently. We gain confidence and ease of movement. We develop resilience against common chronic injuries that develop from poor movement patterns. We also tune into our gut. I feel that our ‘gut instinct’ is full of truth and a heck of a lot of wisdom. So I think training your core is vital to living your best life. But guess what? It doesn’t train itself, and that’s why a 10 minute daily ab routine is a must.

There’s no doubt about it. If you do the work, you’ll get the results. Here are some of the results that you’ll likely enjoy if you do the Pilates daily ab routine (more on that to follow). It takes only 5-10 minutes a day and it will CHANGE. YOUR. LIFE. Strong abs are where it’s at!